THE PRESIDENT: Please be
seated. Thank you all. Welcome to the White
House. Today I signed an executive order creating a new
Homeland Security Office, charged with strengthening America's
protections against terrorism. And I've picked a really good
man to lead that office. (Applause.) In case you hadn't
figured it out, it's Tom Ridge. (Laughter.)

Together, we will confront the threat of
terrorism. We will take strong precautions aimed at
preventing terrorist attacks and prepare to respond effectively if they
might come again. We will defend our country; and while we
do so, we will not sacrifice the freedoms that make our land unique.

The best defense against terror is a
global offensive against terror, wherever it might be
found. Yesterday, we opened another front on the war on
terrorism as we began conventional military operations designed to
destroy terrorist training camps and military installations of the
Taliban government.

Secretary Don Rumsfeld, who is leading a
really fine team, will brief the country this afternoon. But
he informed me this morning that the military mission of yesterday was
executed as planned. And at the same time, that our good
nation dropped over 37,000 kits of food and medicine. This is an
important part of a war already underway that is being conducted on
many fronts.

The first shot of the war was fired
several weeks ago, as we began freezing bank accounts and cutting off
funding of known terrorist organizations and front groups that support
them. And I appreciate so very much the Secretary of
Treasury's work, Paul O'Neill.

We've worked aggressively on the
diplomatic front, developing a broad and strong coalition of countries
who are united with us and involved in our campaign. And Mr.
Secretary Powell and his team have done a remarkable job of rallying
the lovers of freedom to our side. Mr. Secretary, thank
you. (Applause.)

Our intelligence and law enforcement
agencies are working around the clock and around the
world. Attorney General Ashcroft, and George Tenet and Bob
Mueller are all doing a fantastic job of making sure we've got the best
intelligence and the best information, not only to protect ourselves,
but to bring the evildoers to justice.

On all efforts and all fronts, we're going
to be ongoing and relentless as we tighten the net of
justice. This will be a long war. It requires
understanding and patience from the American people. Members
of my Cabinet understand that, and I appreciate them all being
here. These are fine Americans, who understand the nature of
the conflict, and are prepared to join me in doing whatever it takes to
win the war, not only for our country today, but for generations to
come tomorrow.

It's an honor for me to welcome the Ridge
family here to the White House; the former First Lady of Pennsylvania,
Michele; and of course, Lesley and Tommy, thank you all for being here
and thank you for your sacrifice. (Applause.)

I want to thank all of Tom's friends for
coming up from Pennsylvania. It looks like he's got a few who don't
live in Pennsylvania as well. Thank you all for being
here. I'm so appreciative that Clarence Thomas is here to
swear-in Tom. I appreciate the Mayor of Washington, D.C.
being here.

Mr. Mayor, thank you for your
cooperation. It's just the beginning of what we need to do
together to make sure our Nation's Capital safe and
secure. As we've learned, we face new threats; and,
therefore, we need new defenses for our country. And I've
found the right man to coordinate that effort.

Tom Ridge has been a chief
executive. He is a leader who has shown he can draw the best
out of people and out of organizations. He's a decorated
combat veteran of the Vietnam War. He's a patriot who has
heard the sound of battle.

He's seen the reach of terror in a field
in his own state. He's a man of compassion who has seen what
evil can do. I've given Tom and the Office of Homeland
Security a mission: to design a comprehensive, coordinated
national strategy to fight terror here at home.

We face a united, determined
enemy. We must have a united and determined
response. The Homeland Security Office has a series of
specific goals and will have my authority to meet them. One,
take the strongest possible precautions against terrorism by bringing
together the best information and intelligence. In the war
on terror, knowledge is power.

Strengthen and help protect our
transportation systems, our food and water systems and our critical
infrastructure by making them less vulnerable to
attack. Respond effectively to terrorist actions if they
come. The Office will coordinate federal assistance with
state and local efforts. America is going to be prepared.

The Office will work in conjunction with
the new Homeland Security Council, chaired by me and made up of my
Cabinet and other senior officials; the Office mission will have the
full attention and complete support of the very highest levels of our
government.

I know that many Americans at this time
have fears. We've learned that America is not immune from
attack. We've seen that evil is real. It's hard for us to
comprehend the mentality of people that will destroy innocent folks the
way they have. Yet, America is equal to this challenge, make
no mistake about it. They've roused a mighty
giant. A compassionate land will rise united to not only
protect ourselves, not only make our homeland as secure as possible --
but to bring the evildoers to justice so that our children might live
in freedom.

DIRECTOR RIDGE: Thank you, Mr.
President. I'm honored to join the extraordinary team you
have assembled to lead America. The attack of September 11th
changed our nation in so many ways, starting with the lives of the
thousands of victims and their families. It changed the
lives of our men and women in uniform, who are courageously defending
our nation today.

It changed the course of my own state,
Pennsylvania, which now has a new governor. And it changed
the way we look at homeland security, defending our borders from an
attack and ensuring our preparedness should one occur.

Americans should find comfort in knowing
that millions of their fellow citizens are working every day to ensure
our security at every level -- federal, state, county,
municipal. These are dedicated professionals who are good at
what they do. I've seen it up close, as Governor of
Pennsylvania.

But there may be gaps in the
system. The job of the Office of Homeland Security will be
to identify those gaps and work to close them. The size and scope of
this challenge are immense. The President's executive order
states that we must detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against,
respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, an extraordinary
mission. But we will carry it out.

I am optimistic because of your
leadership, Mr. President, because of the unprecedented support for you
throughout the country and among my old friends in
Congress. Because we will have the very best people working
on it, and because our country's shared sense of duty and mission is
unprecedented.

And we will operate from a few basic
principles. First, candor. No one should be wary
of coming forward when they see a problem. It's the only way
to define a solution. The urgency of our task dictates
candor about our challenges and confidence in our ability to solve
them.

The second, cooperation. We
must open lines of communication and support like never before, between
agencies and departments, between federal and state and local entities,
and between the public and private sectors. We must be
task-oriented. The only turf we should be worried about
protecting is the turf we stand on.

Finally, as the President stated, we will
continue to secure liberty, as we secure this
nation. Liberty is the most precious gift we offer to our
citizens. It's what the terrorists fear most, what they
tried to destroy on September 11th. We will work to ensure
that the essential liberty of the American people is protected, that
terrorists will not take away our way of life.

It's called Homeland
Security. While the effort will begin here, it will require
the involvement of America at every level. Everyone in the
homeland must play a part. I ask the American people for
their patience, their awareness and their resolve. This job
calls for a national effort. We've seen it before, whether it was
building the Trans-Continental Railroad, fighting World War II, or
putting a man on the moon.

There are some things we can do
immediately, and we will. Others will take more
time. But we will find something for every American to
do. My friends in the Army Corps of Engineers remind me of
their motto -- Secretary Powell's familiar with it -- "The difficult,
we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer."

That's the attitude we
need. The task before us is difficult, but not
impossible. With your leadership, Mr. President, and with
everyone working as one, I have no doubt we will be up to the
task. (Applause.)